Kelly Snache Tea Box Series #0 - #10

Kelly’s Tea Box line of puzzles are simply the most charming puzzle boxes you’ll ever see, if you don’t have one you most definitely need to contact Kelly to pick one up via his Etsy shop called Mystery by Design!

Kelly’s Description here:

“I had enough interest in these #0/10 copies that I thought I should make up a few extra.

This design is a tricky 1 move to open.  It is a fantastic puzzle that is great for showing our newbies.

This design is my part of the original 1st tea box puzzle in the 10 design series.  

This 1st puzzle was a collaborative effort with Rob Yarger.  Now that was over 10 years ago.  Full forward to today and we have just completed the 9th design. I typically produce in small runs so there isn't enough puzzles to go around when there is only 25 copies.  

To help make sure everyone can have at least tea box puzzle, I have chosen to produce my half of that 1st design.  These copies are unnumbered and can come in an array of colorful designs over the years. 

These fun puzzles may only be one move to open, but so much fun can be had with them!”

Polar Burr - Derek Bosch By Two Brass Monkeys

I’ve had a go at Derek’s Helical burr puzzles and this one is the next level from those so my chances at solving this one seems slim!

Heres’s Steve from Two Brass Monkey’s description:

“The very latest Helical Burr from the twisted mind of Derek Bosch. 

This one is the highest level four piece Helical Burr found so far. A mind blowing 36 moves to separate the puzzle into four pieces. It is definitely achievable though. Ali solved this one before we'd even put a solution together!

I (Steve) really like this one the end caps, slightly reminiscent of the icy North and South poles definitely have a lot more going on below the surface than they do peaking out from the top.

The name for this puzzle was actually suggested many years ago by Laurie Brokenshire. It is visually similar to the simpler W(h)orl(e)d Puzzle. When I showed that one to Laurie at a puzzle party and explained the name he said "you should have called it Polar Burr". Of course, he was right and, finally, we are able to use his much better naming session.   For me this is a reminder of Laurie and his amazing wit.  The puzzle world definitely misses him.

It has been printed by The Two Brass Monkeys in PLA. It's definitely a difficult puzzle.  Each one takes around 18 hours to print and we'll therefore only be releasing these in small batches.”

Bill Sheckels - Book Puzzle Box, 3rd generation

Bill creates some really gorgeous puzzles so when I noticed he had made this Third generation of his Puzzle Book line I just had to pick one up.

There was three different wood versions available with this one being the Bird’s Eye Maple Cover.

Huckleberry Tea Box - Kelly Snache

This wonderful Puzzle Box by Kel is the ninth edition from his Tea Box Series.

 Here’s Kel’s description:

“Here we are, design #9 of a 10 series set is now complete and ready to ship.  There are 22 copies now of 25 available.

August feels right for harvest and what a better way to start then a box full of Huckleberries!

6 Huckleberry dials keep this sweet little tea box all locked up, just like Granny likes it.  Once inside you will see how the box is full of colorful mechanisms with nary an inch of free space for much more!  A weighty box with a super challenging locking system, you may need the solution for this one.

Lots of purple, inside and out. : )”

PentaRing - Osanori Yamamoto by Pelikan

I’ve always enjoyed Osanori designs and this one is very nicely crafted by Pelikan with Zebrawood Box and Padauk Pieces.  It is still available for purchase at Puzzlemaster  be sure to head on over and grab a copy!

Kevin Sadler wrote about it:

“This simply stunning puzzle from the fevered brain of Osanori-san is made with a Zebrano box and some very vibrant Padauk pieces. Here there are only three pieces to be fitted inside but they are fairly complex and there are 2 rather large holes diagonally opposite each other to be filled at the same time. That single diagonal wall on the entrance will prove very important. Initially I could find several ways to make the 3x3x3 cube but I couldn't for the life of me find an assembly that would end up with the opposite corners filled. It took me a couple of hours to find a potential assembly only to be stymied by the realisation that one of the pieces was oriented in such a way that it could not be inserted inside the box at all. Back to the drawing board. After a further few hours I realised thatI had missed an alternative cube assembly – this was easily done because the positioning of the pieces was particularly unintuitive. Having found a new shape, I had to find out whether there was a sequence that could fit it into the cube frame. Again, I struggled but just in the “nick of time” for my review – this is a wonderful challenge with a fantastic Aha! moment.”

Review YouTube video by PuzzleGuy

Soma 7-8 - Lucie Pauwels by Mathew Nedeljko

This puzzle is the first I have from Mat, his work is absolutely perfect in fit and finish, if you haven’t been to his site I strongly urge you to head on over to see what’s available!

After having tried several different ‘Modified’ Soma designs I was anxious to give this one a go.

Nedeljko WoodWorks

“This is another Lucie Pauwels variation of the classic Soma Cube. Instead of  the traditional 7 pieces, there are now 8 which will only form the 3x assembly with one unique solution. Crafted from exotic Chakte Viga, finished in lacquer and waxed, this is a gorgeous wood. Significantly more difficult than  Lucie’s related design Soma 6-7”

Alpacka - Alexander Magyarics by Wood Wonders

This is another clever design from Alexander and beautifully crafted by Brian!

I’m always amazed by the different type of puzzles that Brian tackles, this definitely would never have been on my to ‘make list’!  His puzzle work is outstanding!

This is yet another clever design by Andrew and beautifully crafted by Brian!

At first I was taken aback by the shape of the box as it has a maze or track that you need to slide the ‘C’ shaped pieces into, and it does require some thought as to how to proceed.  It’s a much more difficult puzzle than it initially appears to be!

Here's what Brian said:  Please visit Wood Wonders to stay informed of his wonderful puzzle offerings!

“The demand was too great and I had to make more Alpacka's. I also decided to keep them on the New Puzzles page since they were just here for the last update. And yes, there will be an Alpaca #2 coming soon! I thought this appeared to be rather easy, until I tried to solve it. My mind just doesn't work like I need it to for a puzzle like this. Although the number of moves is not at all high, I think it still provides a nice challenge! 4 versions available. The Surprise Me version will all have the walnut box but the pieces will be different woods. The photo is showing several of the possible woods.  Moves: 1.3.2.3.2.4”